This master thesis investigates how landscape architecture can contribute to the social and cultural reinterpretation of a historical border, specifically the Berlin Wall, part of the former German-German border. The research refers to the ongoing public and cultural debate in Germany regarding a wall that has physically disappeared but remains mentally present for many Germans and Europeans. The study explores how this phenomenon can be interpreted through the lens of landscape architecture, using Henri Lefebvre’s spatial triad: perceived, conceived, and lived space.

The perceived space reveals that, although the border has been overgrown by the everyday landscape in many places, it remains legible in several locations. The conceived space identifies the mental border based on demographic data, which is especially apparent along the Berlin-Brandenburg urban edge. The lived space highlights both new functional possibilities and the memory of victims of the GDR regime.Together, these elements form a landscape palimpsest, a layered historical reading of the study area.

Based on these findings, a set of design principles was developed. Bernard Tschumi’s Manhattan Transcripts served as inspiration, particularly for integrating crime scene sketches into the lived space. Ten areas were selected for design intervention, based on criteria such as the current visibility of the border, proximity to the mental border, and potential for large-scale landscape gestures.

The resulting design removes visible scars of division in certain areas, symbolizing unification. Conversely, in locations where escapees lost their lives, the border is marked through landscape interventions offering space for commemoration, reflection, and encounter. This is done by mapping the sketches of the crime scenes mapped onto the landscape and made into a spatial design. Additionally, intersecting infrastructure that connects across the former border serves as a symbol of reunification. In this way, the design addresses contemporary border-related issues in German society.

This forms a design strategy with ten sub-areas spread along the Berlin-Brandenburg border to send a signal and initiate a discussion on a better social demographic unification of Germany, at the edges of the city where the political administrative power is located.